Verizon’s iPhone 5 being sold unlocked, allowing it to be used internationally

Tecca

Technology News BlogSeptember 22, 2012

If you do a lot of traveling, you no doubt know how frustrating it can be if you want to take your phone with you overseas. Prior to international travel, getting an unlocked phone is a must — it'll allow you to get a cheap pre-paid phone plan at your destination and avoid the astronomical roaming charges normally associated with placing calls abroad. But buying an unlocked phone is expensive. Or, at least, it was — it turns out that the Verizon version of the iPhone 5 comes unlocked right out of the box.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you're traveling overseas, you'll be able to swap your Verizon SIM card out for a local carrier's and save tons of money. Or, if you decide that you'd like to switch to AT&T's notoriously terrible cell network (good god, why?) or even T-Mobile's, you can do so by replacing your Verizon SIM with an AT&T one. You'd still need to pay an early termination fee, though, and you won't be able to enjoy 4G LTE speeds.